Knitting machine and method



June 7, 1938. H. A. RAYNOR KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD s sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 14, 1936 lud .Ill J @d #O l W... m

June 7, l1938. H. A. RAYNOR KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Original Filed Feb. 14, 195 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 7, 1938. H. A, RAYNOR 2,120,187

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD origin-a1 Filed Feb. 14, 193e s sheets-sheet s 4 IlLE y l 3y Janv/wu I 'Z;

ATTORNEYS APatented June 7, 1938 UNITED .STATE-.S

KNITTING ngland `Harry Avery Raynor, Wollaton Park, Nottingham,

original application February 14,1936, serial Naf 63,925, -now Patent No.I 2,108,925. Divided amav this application April 30,

1937, Serial No.

140,020. In Great Britain February 15, 1935 Y 3 claims'. (01. cfs-9) i This' inventin is for a knitting machine and a. method of machine knittingand the invention relates to the prodnctionof that type of fabric the exercise of the present invention consists in. a weft-wise extending bar or bars each of which embodies a plurality of cores, pillars or 'strands" lar knitting machine for producing the fabric. nected 'as to be simultaneously introduced into the fabric as a composite bar" or braid and. anchored in a fabric by'loops which pass be.- Ytween Ysaid cores', pillars or strands. vBy providing a plural core or plural stranded weft barin y I ing a needle and stitch loop to pierce a single embodying one or more thread bars, other than the stitch 'thread'or threads, extending weft-wise of the fabric, i. e. in the direction of the stitch courses,V and anchored in the fabric by stitch loops. Y

Heretofore a knitted fabric of the above type has been proposed embodying a transversely extending strand or plurality thereof locked in the fabric by loops ofthe fabric extending through thestrand or each of same. In this proposed fabric, however, the transversely extending strand or each strand through which the' fabric chine only one strand is fed tothe machine.

A characteristic-feature of the fabric-made by extending alongside' each other and so conlieu of a single strand weft, it be appreciated that the production of the fabric is considerably facilitated, as any'difficulty experienced inv cans--` strand, and particularly the 'encircling covering of a single elastic or other thread, is. eliminated,

it being amatter of comparative ease to pierce a composite weft bar or braid .between -the cores or strands. Additionally, the passag'ejof loops between the cores or 'strands of a vcompositevweft provides a more secure and positive anchorage of the weft in the fabric.

The present invention provides a'l-nitting ma.- chinehaving hooked needles, means for feeding needle hooks, means for causing said pointsI to pierce said weft thread', means for clearing said fixing needles to take knitting thread and to draw loops thereof through the pierced weft thread Aand to cast off the latter in knitting.

The invention is particularly applicable to elastic knitted fabrics, i. e. fabrics including elastic threads; and in' this connection the aforesaid composite weft bar or each or selected of same securedin the fabric may embody a plurality of elastic .strands extending alongside each other andsuitably bound together, one or more of said elastic strands being vanchored by stitch loops "of one stitch course and another or others by loops of a succeeding course.

nature of this invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- loops pass is constituted by a single thread such as a wrapped elastic thread individually'introduced-and locked in-the fabric, and in the pro? duction of the fabric on a circular knitting maf Fig. 1 is a face view of va portion of rib knitted fabric according to this invention.

liig. 2 is a section through the fabric.

Fig. 3 is a face View of ai modified fabric.

Fig. '4 is a section of thezfa'bric shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 to 14 inclusiveare' detail Views illustrating-successive steps in the production of the fabric shown in Figs. 1 'and-2.

Fig, is an elevational view of part of a circu- Fig 16 is an enlarged detail-view of part of the Y 'machineshown in Fig. l5 but looking at same. -from the opposite side.

Fig. 17 is afdetail -view showing one method of Y making a dual stranded weft for incorporating in the knitted fabric.-

Vdescribed as-applicdto a rib knitted fabric, e.v g. a one-and-one rib having incorporated therein Weft'wise extending elastic-thread bars I. Each ofthe said weftthread barsl may consist of two' rubberstrands or threads 2 each wrapped with one or 'more layers 3 of cotton or other desired .yarn in the well-known manner, and the two wrapped rubber strands -2 being connected or bound together alongside each other so as to constitute a narrow braid, the covered elastic strands constituting .longitudinal pillars in said braid.

' This braided weft l is so incorporated inthe rib fabric that one of the covered elastic strands or pillars-2 .extends between and is gripped between the front stitch loops l and rear stitch loops 5 of one stitch course, while the other covered elastic strand or pillar of the same braided weft extends between and is gripped between the front and rear stitch loops 4 and 5 of the next succeeding stitch course; the stitch loops at oneside of 'the fabric, that is to say either the front loops 4 vor rear loops 5 passing through thebra'ided weft l between the said elastic strands or pillars 2 so By way of. example, the invention will now Vbe as positively to anchor Athe weft from displacement in the fabric. y

The above-described fabric can be produced on any suitable type of rib knitting machine, and by way of example the production will now be described of a fabric according to Figs. 1 and 2 on a circular rib knitting machine, reference being made to Figs. 5 to 14 of the drawings. For convenience of description the operation of a single cylinder needle 6 and its co-operating dial needle 1 is referred to. Let it first be assumed that the cylinder needle 6 and the dial needle 1 have been retracted to the knock-over position with the last made stitch loops 8 and 5 carried in their hooks (Fig. 5); the cylinder needle 6 is now projected to a tucking height with the stitch loop 8 over the latch, the dial needle 1 being retained retracted (Fig. 6). The cylinder needle 6 during the lowering thereof is now brought round into engagement with a toothed or tricked rotatably mounted wheel or disc III which is formed at its periphery with a horizontal channel I2 through which the dual stranded elastic braid I is fed, said braid being fed horizontally beneath the hook Il of the cylinderneedle 6 in such a manner that the tip or point of the hook is caused during the continued downward movement or retraction of the Vneedle to pierce the braid between the two elastic strands or pillars 2 thereof (Fig. '7).- As the braid I is drawn by the needle hook I I out of the channel I2 in the member III said braid is brought into a position with the two strands 2 thereof located vertically one above the other (Fig. 8), and the needle 6 then passes beneath the periphery of a horizontal rotary disc or the like I3 which'acts on the dual stranded braid l to press one of the strands thereof over to the back of the needle hook and bring the pressed over strand of said braid above the loop 8 (Fig. 9). 'Ihe cylinder needle 6 and dial needle 1 are now simultaneously projected to a thread feeding position, and in doing so the stitch loop 8 on the cylinder needle together with the dual stranded braid l is cleared below the cylinder needle latch, and the stitch loop 9 on the dial needle is also cleared behind the dial needle latch, and a new thread I4 is fed to both needles. The cylinder needle 6 is now retracted to the knock-over position and in so doing a loop I5 formed from the thread Il is drawn through the old loop 8 and through the braid I midway in its width between the elastic strands 2, said braid I being thereby knocked over with the old loop 8 (Fig. 11). Following this the old loop 9 is knocked over from the dial needle 1 and a new loop I6 is drawn thereby from the thread I4 (Fig. 12). The two needles 6, 1 are now simultaneously projected to clear the last formed loops I5 and I6 and receive further thread I1 (Fig. 13), and said needles are operated in the customary manner to form further stitches from the last fed thread (Fig. 14).

IBy the above-describedoperation it will be seen that one of the strands 2 of the dual stranded braid I becomes embraced between stitch loops produced on the cylinder and dial needles, that is to say between the front and rear stitch loops of the fabric, and the second strand of the braid is so located as to become embraced between the cylinder and dial stitches produced at the next succeeding course; it being understood that at said second course the dual stranded. braid is not fed to the needles. Thus it will be appreciated that the two strands 2 of the braided weft I arel embraced in succeeding stitch courses, the cylinder needle stitch loops being drawn through the braid between the strands thereof so as positively to lock the braid in position. y

By feeding the dual strand braid at alternate courses, that is to say by causing the needles to pierce said braid at alternate courses, an elastic strand is incorporated in each successive course of stitches as before described. If desired, however, the stitch courses embodying the braided weft may alternate with other courses devoid of.v

weft. The weft I when incorporating elastic threads may be fed to the needles under suitable weft to the needles so as to ensure said needles piercing the weft between the elastic strands thereof.

In Figs. 15 and 16 is illustrated a part of a circular knitting machine showing more clearly how the dual stranded braid is fed to the cylinder needles. The braid I is drawn from a suittension and means are provided for guiding the able rotatably mounted supply I8 and passed through a guide I9 and between the circumferential faces of a pair of truncated conical feeding rollers 20 resiliently pressed together by a spring 2I or other suitable means. The speed at which the braid I is fed to the machine can be adljusted as required by moving said braid upwards or downwards between the rollers 20 so as to coact with the varying diameters of said rollers, and this may be accomplished by imparting rota- -tion to a screw-threaded rod 22 on which is mounted an arm 23 retained from rotation and carrying the guide I9, the rotation of the screw 22 traversing said guide arm 23 up or down as required. The braid I after passing between the feed rollers 20 enters a flat channel 24 of a fixed guide member 25, which channel 24 brings the braid into position with the two strands 2 thereof horizontally disposed, and from this channel 2l the braid is guided into the horizontal channel I2 at the periphery of the aforesaid rotatably mounted toothed or tricked wheel ID, and the rotation ofsaid whee1 may be effected by the needles coacting with the teeth or tricks thereof. This toothed and channelled wheel I0 serves to feed the dual stranded braid I beneath the hooks oi the descending needles and positively locate and hold said braid in the correct position for ensuring that the points of the needle hooks successively pierce the braid midway in its width, i. e. between the strands 2; saidbraid being held up against the needle by which it is pierced. As the needles leave the teeth or tricks in the wheel I0 the braid I assumes a position on the hooks with the strands 2 thereof one over the other one inside and the other outside the hooks. After piercing the braid and while the cylinder needles are retracted, the part of the dual stranded braid outside the needle hooks is pushed over to the back of the needles by passing beneath the horizontal disc I3, which disc also functions to bring the strands 2 of the braid I side by side. From this position the machine' operates in the manner previously described to draw thread loops between the strands of the braid and fasten the latter in the fabric. 4

The particular construction of the fabric embodying the plural stranded weft bars I may be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention. For instance fancy effectsv wherein, as lcompared with the fabric shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an additional thread course 2B is introduced at predetermined intervals and tuck stitches 21 are formed in alternate needle wales at said additional courses, said tuck stitches preferably occurring in the wales produced by the al needles 'I. If the additional course 26 with tuck stitches 21 is knitted immediately after introducing and anchoring each plural stranded weft bar I, and the tuck stitches are made in the stitch wales appearing at the back of the fabric, i. e. on the dial needles, the effect produced is to shorten or tighten-upthe cylinder needle stitches which are drawn through the weft braid I at the front of the fabric, thereby bunching-up y the fabric over the anchored weft braids I and forming outstanding ribs or lines running weft-wise of the fabric as at 28 in Fig. 4. The thread introduced for making the additional stitch courses 2i with tuck stitches may be different from that used in making the remainder of the fabric. For example, the main fabric may be made of cotton or wool and the additional courses 26 of artificial silk thereby producing projecting vlines of artificial silk on the fabric face.

The braided weft I embodying the elastic strands 2 may be produced on any suitable braiding machine. For example, a machine may be employed wherein a plurality of spindles (e. g. six) traverse an endless track of double-loop or gure eight formation, a rubber strand being fedv within each loop of the track. In Fig. 17 is shown a small portion of dual stranded braid illustrating how same may be constructed. 'Ihe two strands 2 are each spirally wrapped with cotton or like covering threads 29, and the strands so wrapped are bound together side by side by binding threads 30 which pass alternately over one covered strand and beneath the other strands in the manner of a double-loop or figure eight, the said binding threads intersecting each other between the two strands so as to space or divide said strands sulciently for enabling a needle to pierce the braid between same. Where the covered or wrapped strands 2 are of rubber the spiral twist of the covering 29 of one strand is advantageously opposite to that of the other strand, as shown in Fig. 17, so that the finished braid is maintained flat.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 63,925, led February 14, 1936, which eventuated into Patent 2,108,925.

I claim:-

.1. A method of producing fabric on a rib knitting machine comprising the following sequential operations, namely:- producing knitted stitches on two sets of needles which draw loops in opposite directions, projecting needles of one set to 4a tucking height, simultaneously feeding below the hooks of said projected needles a plurality of weft threads or strands connected together side by side to form a composite bar, retracting said needles to cause the hooks thereof to pierce the plural stranded weft at a position between said strands, pressing said plural stranded weft over the needle hooks so as to bring one or more strands on one side and the remaining strand or strands on the opposite side of the needles, projecting needles of both sets to clear the old loops thereon and feeding stitch thread thereto, retracting the needles of both sets to clear the old loops thereon and feeding stitch thread thereto, retracting the needles of both sets to produce a new course of stitches and in so doing to cast oif the plural stranded weft bar and draw stitch loops therethrough and subsequently operating the needles of both sets to produce a further stitch course.

2. A circular knitting machine embodying in combination a needle carrier with needles mounted to reciprocate therein, stitch thread feeding means, means for feeding under tension and at an adjustable speed a composite weft composed of a plurality of elastic or other cores connected together side by side, a rotary wheel or disc having peripheral teeth or tricks adapted vto be engaged by the needles and also having a peripheral channel functioning to guide the plural stranded weft beneath the needle hooks, said channel cooperating with needles coacting with said wheel teeth or tricks to hold the composite weft up against said needles and locate said weft so that the points of the needle hooks pierce said weft between the strands thereof, and means for pressing one or more of the strands of the weft so pierced over on to the back of the needles and maintain the remaining strand or strands on the front thereof.

3. A circular knitting machine according to claim 2 wherein said machine embodies two sets of needles functioning to draw stitch loops in opposite directions to produce rib fabric and wherein the composite weft is fed. to one set of needles, e. g. the cylinder needles, only.

HARRY AVERY RAYNOR. 

